Wrath of the unsmiling one!
by Artemis Requiem
Summary: Batman smiles!


After showing Artemis to her, Diana decided to give the other Amazon the opportunity to rest for the night (or drink herself unconscious; Themysciran wine is damn strong), before sating her curiosity about the Bana-Migdhall. Still, she was there bright and early the next morning to show Artemis to the commissary for breakfast.

Ugh. Oh, Ishtar the sun! It's brighter in space. Her body knows what time it is even if Artemis was not fully prepared for the early-rising schedule of the Themysciran. She blocked the harsh rays with one hand, then made herself hurriedly ready for a morning meal. She didn't even drink all of Diana's wine. Just a lot of it. Once her topknot is secured into place, though, she's ready to face the world. "A good morning to you, Diana of Themyscira."

"Good morning, Artemis of Bana-Migdhall. Though," she adds with a too-chipper smile for this hour of the day, "Diana is just fine. We're family, after all." If distant. The Watchtower is all a-buzz with activity; people in jumpsuit uniforms walk alongside those in costumes. Some stroll, some hurry along. Luckily enough for Artemis, everything is more or less quiet planetside so there aren't any alarms going off at the moment. There's not really a whole lot to look at, other than the people, as the facility was designed for function above form. These inhabitants of Man's World just haven't quite grasped that the two aren't mutually exclusive and something can be both functional and aesthetically pleasing. "How does your head feel? They have this drink - coffee - and pills that can minimize any discomfort."

"Diana, then, though we are perhaps distant as cousins go." Artemis allows, warily. She looks around much like a tourist and unashamed of her curiosity despite the lack of adornment. "I have actually encountered coffee already, and some of that would be divine." She allows, rubbing a bit at one temple. She's had worse, but she's trying to be a guest at present. "I have been...wandering, a few years, to try and learn this place and it baffles me still."

"It still baffles me as well. Having friends to help me understand this world has made the transition easier." With those words, Diana glances over at Artemis, perhaps fishing for additional information on Artemis' tribe without being /too/ obvious about it. Before too long, the pair arrive in the commissary and their entrance earns Artemis some curious glances. Some of those looks are a little wary. They've all grown accustomed to Diana, by now, but the last off-the-island Amazon was up to some very bad things. Ignoring the looks, she tilts her head towards the food line. "The food is actually very good. The coffee is just over there."

Once they hit the cafeteria, Artemis pauses briefly. It certainly /smells/ alright, if not quite what she's used to. But what she's used to hasn't been popular since before Greece was even really a nation. She meets all curious stares with a haughty glare of her own, ponytail swishing behind her as she makes towards the coffee. "I expected to die with my sisters. When I did not, I was perhaps...puzzled by the Goddesses' will." She admits, over one shoulder.

"Perhaps they have a plan for you." Or, perhaps they were just feeling capricious or generous. One never knows with the gods. Diana follows Artemis to the coffee and reaches for a mug of her own. "I am very sorry for the loss of your sisters. What happened to your tribe, if I may ask?" It's an incredible loss, and Diana's words are solemn and heartfelt. She can only imagine what Artemis must be feeling.

Artemis looks up, abruptly, coffee sloshing dangerously in its mug. She takes it black, apparently. The better to scour her insides, one supposes. "You do not know?" She inquires with widened eyes. "Has the tale not survived? Teth-Adam the destroyer thought to add us to his list of conquests." She lifts her chin again, and her eyes go hard. "We would not succumb." She sets the mug down hastily upon her tray, as her hand starts to shake. Also, dramatic amazonian pronouncements hold up the breakfast line.

"No," Diana confirms, meeting gaze. "The tale never reached the shores of Themyscira. Had we known, had /I/ known..." She lets her words trail off. Could have, would have, should have. That the destruction of Bana-Maigdhall never even blipped on the League's scanners makes Diana alternatively angry and deeply saddened. How many other disasters have gone unaided? There's nothing either can do about it now. "If there is anything I can offer, Artemis. What happened so long ago between our two people is..." She shakes her head. "You are always welcome on Themyscira. Your sisters, as well, are welcome to rest on the island." As much as the offer is truly heart-felt, Diana could just be making a huge faux pas. Still, it's one she makes with all good intentions.

Artemis takes a very slow breath, and her eyes glint. "I see, I understand." And she does, though that understanding is a stone in the pit of her stomach. "It was a long time in the past, even by the standards of Themyscira." She braces her hands against the tray now, warping the (comparatively) fragile plastic nearly to the breaking point. "I was not alive for the conflict between Hippolyta and our first Queen. I gather that neither were you. Still, my sisters rest with our home, that we raised up by our own hands, and brought down in the same manner. Better that the Man's World never finds it." Her tone turns harsher, for a moment. None of the jumpsuits behind quite dares to interrupt a moment of Amazon solidarity.

"I would want no different for Themyscira. I understand." Diana gives the tray the briefest of glances, before lifting her gaze back up Artemis'. "I was not alive for it, either, and the reasons are either long forgotten or simply not something my mother wishes to speak of. Still, their choices and differences are not necessarily mine." As witnessed by the fact she's standing here, rather than on the island. "I grieve for your loss, and for the knowledge that there were other Amazons that I never knew and now never will. I do hope that you will give consideration to, and perhaps one day accept my offer of a home amongst your remaining sisters on Themyscira."

Artemis gives a slow nod again, and the tray sort of vibrates between her hands for a moment longer-but thankfully does not snap. Not this time. Her coffee shall survive. "I will-it is a loss that I think you and the other Themyscirans will never understand. Never. But to blame you personally would be-a fault." And she is struggling not to do this. "As it was Man's World that ended our home." And Teth-Adam. "One goal I have in my life now is to find justice for that." Finally, finally, she moves down the line so maybe somebody else can have some coffee.

"Perhaps we will never understand," Diana concedes, "but I do have an idea of what it must feel like." When every Amazon on Themyscira was turned to stone, she still had hope that she could restore her people. Artemis lacks even that. So, while Diana cannot fully comprehend the enormous loss, she does have an idea. Following after Artemis, she pauses to collect a bowl of cut fruit. The bewildered staff left in their wake aren't paid much attention to. There are so many other things on Diana's mind at the moment. "You aren't alone, Artemis. Teth-Adam will answer for his sins, and justice will be yours - I would never dream of taking such from you, but should you want my assistance, it's yours." There's nothing Diana can do to change the past, but she will try to do right by the other Amazon now.

Belatedly, Artemis realizes she should also eat food and not just coffee. She has moved past many of the various breakfast concoctions, but a bowl of grits and some biscuits joins her tray. She looks at both somewhat suspiciously, but they should do. Especially when she finds the little honey packets. "I, again, thank you. I regret that I must come here and immediately enter into your debt in many ways. Your...Justice League is at least generous." She tries to move past talk of Teth-Adam, as that is a subject of much rage indeed.

"It's the least I can do," Diana replies, waving off the mention of debt with one hand while balancing her tray on her other. A plate stacked with pancakes is added to her tray, along with a handful of honey packets. "You may remain at the Watchtower as long as you like." Just let one of the other founding members try to argue that point with her. Having gotten all the food she desires, Diana leads the way towards one of the available tables.

Artemis simply follows along, pausing to steal an apple from the fruit basket at the very end of the line. "I appreciate it. At the least, the view is...different. Even from the highest mountains, Earth does not look quite the same." She moves adeptly among the tables, dodging those foolish enough to cross her path.

"Very different. I think that was the hardest thing to get used to." Diana seats herself at a table nearest to a window, then reaches for a grape from her fruit bowl. "I used to think the world was so large, and I'd never seen it all. Then... well, I came aboard the Watchtower for the first time." She pops the grape into her mouth while looking towards the window. It does provide a very striking view. "It's looks so small from up here."

Artemis surveys her own tray, then gives the grits a dubious try. She frowns a bit, ruminates on the non-flavor. Salt seems to be in order. And pepper. And eating them fast. "I would not really have thought of it as seeing the entire world at a time-I suppose I am too used to the endless smaller places. But it is, I suppose. From here...little of what I know is recognizeable. Bana-Maghdall would not even be a speck upon its surface." A sigh.

"Sometimes I think I catch glimpses of Themyscira," Diana confides, reaching for another grape, "though I don't know how much of that is wishful thinking." Likely, all of it. Diana winces, seemingly for no obvious reason, then reaches up towards her ear. A small, round something is plucked out of her ear and then tucked into the inside of her bracer. "By the gods," she grumbles, "they never shut up."

Artemis tilts her head slightly at the little plucked round thing. "What is that?" She just asks directly. While familiar with the concept of radio by this point, she is used to much larger units. She punctuates the question by biting crunchfully into her apple. "My sisters voices are sometimes too numerous for me to follow, but if I request them to keep order they will recover. They just do not have many to talk to now."

"They call it a communicator, or a commlink," Diana replies. Hers has registered that it's no longer monitoring communications. "I can hear what others are saying, or speak back to them. They were getting too talkative." The two Amazons have claimed a table by themselves near the window, where they can share the view of Earth below the Watchtower. The comments about her sister's voices earn Artemis a questioning look. "I don't understand. Your sisters' voices?"

Artemis listens, and seems to contemplate on this for a bit. "What were they talking about? And who? Other-Justice League people?" It seems a sound guess. She chews on her apple a bit more. "But yes, my sisters' voices. They speak to me still-perhaps always will." Her expression as she explains this is both sad and serene.

"Yes, other Justice League members. They were discussing where a villain in Gotham may have his hide-out." Diana starts to tear open the honey packets, one by one, and squeezing the honey out onto her pancakes. The revelation that Artemis can still hear her sisters brings a sad smile. "It must be a great comfort to you, however... they have not been allowed to cross the river?"

"The river is for those who follow the Gods of Olympus, which we do not." She unthinklingly speaks in the present tense. "And they cry out for vengeance still. So their rest may be some time in coming, but I shall do my best." She straighens her shoulders a little, and gazes out at the Earth. "At the least, hearing them still has drawn me through some of the darker times." She shakes that off, waving away the subject with a flicker of her hand. "I have never been to this 'Gotham' as yet, but I hear tales of it."

Batman doesn't make it a habit to eat in the Watchtower's cafeteria. Not that the food's bad or anything, (although it's not up to Alfred's standards, certainly,) but the environment is frequently more crowded than he prefers. In this case, though, he glances into the room and frowns behind his cowl as he sees someone he's not familiar with. In Diana's company, of course, but he still wants to know just who it is that people are bringing into the Watchtower. As Artemis looks out the window towards Earth, Batman walks quietly up to the table and says, "Who is she?" apparently directing the question to Diana.

"I see." It makes sense, that they would abandon the gods of Olympus when they left Themyscira. Perhaps if they had not turned their backs on the Olympians... Diana pushes that thought away and frowns faintly, unhappy with herself for even having thought it in the first place. "Gotham is-" but her words cut off, as the very embodiment of Gotham appears at the table. "This is Artemis of Bana-Migdhall. Artemis, this is Batman." There is just a flicker of amusement across her features as Diana introduces Bruce by his costumed identity.

Artemis frowns somewhat. "The Gods of Olympus are-" But a probably deeply heretical tirade is cut short by the approach of the Bat. "Oh, the Unsmiling One! Your underlings use your visage as currency." She rises and would normally salute with a spear or something, but she's been told that modern Americans find that intimidating and so just offers a handshake.

That question having been answered, Batman then follows it up by asking, "And what is she doing on the Watchtower?" When he's greeted as the Unsmiling One, his cowl tilts just the tiniest bit as one of his eyebrows rise. "I have underlings?" he says, glancing in Diana's direction and wondering just what exactly she's been saying about him. The spear probably would have been better, as it would have been slightly less rude of Batman to make no acknowledgement of that gesture like he does with the woman's profferred hand.

"She was welcomed aboard by Sand, summarily insulted by Flash," Diana explains, rising to her feet when Batman ignores the offered hand. "She is an Amazon, and welcome here. I have offered her guest quarters, and please do not further violate xenia by refusing her open hand." Men. By the gods, do they know nothing?

Artemis is not usually impressed by males, but Batman is sinister enough to somehow be comforting. "Yes, Sand of the Justice League presented a visage of the Unsm-of you to a store underling when he asked that I allow their transgressions to be absolved in favor of devoting my energy to greater tasks." Artemis explains straightforwardly. This all makes perfect sense to her. "Your 'Flash' is deeply disrespectful of Themyscira but seems difficult to catch and thrash properly for impudence." She leaves her hand out a moment longer, but will eventually withdraw it if Bats continues to desire 'personal space'.

The all too familiar star trek swish sound can be heard as the door from the corridor opens allowing the Man of Steel to stride into the room. Superman, as many may call him, spies his target(s) and walks with intent and direction toward the three gathered. In his approach, the name Flash comes to his ears. His movements will bring him to stand to the side of Wonder Woman (which ever side is open).

Batman seems to have other things on his mind than Artemis' hand. "My understanding is that the welcome mat extended to League members and Watchtower technicians. Perhaps I missed the meeting where your people were granted special dispensation?" he says, glaring at Diana. "After all, it's not like we've ever had a problem with any Amazons before." He turns to Artemis and says in a tone that's a mixture of formal, mock-formal and ticked-off-bat, "Welcome. You'll excuse me from further greetings while I find out just exactly how deeply our security been compromised." Noting Superman's arrival, Batman asks, "I take it you had something to do with this?" now directing his glare at Clark and Diana equally.

"Yes," Diana replies, matching Bruce's glare with one of her own, "I imagine it was the same meeting where it was made decided it was fine to allow /your people/ to sneak onto the Watchtower and into private quarters." He's hit a sore spot. "Artemis is not Aresia. You cannot judge my entire race on the actions of one foundling."

Artemis just crosses her arms and listens somewhat impassively, though she raises one red eyebrow at the notion of 'trouble with amazons before'. "Is he merely threatened by the strength of true women?" She asks of Diana, totally not in an inside voice. Superman's approach is noted, and he is examined, critically. "I have compromised no security, Unsmiling One, you have my word as one of the Bana-Mighdall that I mean your Justice League no harm. Diana of Themiscyra is the only one of my kind that I can locate and I begged her counsel on navigating the strange world that you men have built for yourself."

Having no idea what Batman is talking about, Superman glances to the Bat with a quizical expression, then back to Artemis to offer, "Excuse the intrusion; I'm sure being of Amazonian origin your word more than enough. I'm Superman, and you must be Artemis. You are very welcome here."

Batman glowers at Diana. "I didn't bring Nightwing aboard. He snuck in. If you or anyone else in the League has a problem with that, take it up with him. He doesn't answer to me." Not that Bruce doesn't still expect just that out of Dick, but he's always been a 'do as I say, not as I do' kinda guy. "I'm not judging her, period. I'm pointing out that she is not allowed on board, and your bringing her here sets a bad example for the rest of the League."

"Thank you, Kal." Still, Diana's been ruffled by Bruce's treatment of Artemis, and kind words from Kal aren't going to smooth her feathers. "If I have set a bad example by offering one of my sisters, who has lost her tribe and her home, sanctuary and hospitality, then so be it. This is the way of my people, and this is my home. I take full responsibility for her while she is here, but she /is/ welcome here."

Nightwing? Snuck on board? Artemis flicks her gaze somewhat puzzledly between Batman and Diana, then just sort of smiles politely to Superman. "I thank you for your welcome, Superman." A Founderspat doesn't come up too often in public, so the other cafeteria diners engage in a little bit of constructive stopping and staring.

Superman is also slightly out of the loop as far as Nightwing and others are concerned, he's still not fully caught up with the whole Artemis backstory. So, instead of adding to the confusion, he polietly smiles at Artemis' remark and leaves it at that, remaining quiet while Bruce and Diana hash it out. He does glance over at the two just to see if they're going to escallate it or not.

Batman would glare at Superman if it wouldn't mean he'd have to stop glaring at Diana. "This is /supposed/ to be a secure facility. Unilaterally deciding that someone you've just met is safe to bring on board without it being an emergency situation is irresponsible and dangerous."

"I trust Sand's judgment that it was bordering on an emergency situation," Diana replies through clenched teeth. After all, who knows how much longer Artemis' temper may have held out. "I remember how confusing and overwhelming it can be down there," and she gestures towards the window with her words. "It still is. She is an Amazon. She can be trusted." That statement is made with a tone of 'this discussion is over' finality.

Artemis's arms tense and her teeth grit, but she holds her tongue just the one time. She just got funny looks the last time she challenged someone to meet her at dawn and she's still a guest here, a bad example or otherwise. Plus, well, Diana seems to have the general idea she wanted to convey handled. A few of the uniformed technicians decide their meal is over a little sooner rather than later and quietly slip out.

There's something that takes Superman's attention. He looks off beyond the windows toward the Earth. "There's a volcano in Greece, it's errupting. We need to handle this. I'll see you on the surface." and he flies out the doors and toward an airlock.

"So it was an emergency situation because she was confused and overwhelmed," Batman says dryly, "meaning /she/ was the potential emergency, I take it? And your solution was to bring her to the Watchtower. Where she's already apparently had a less-than-pleasant meeting with Flash, from the sound of things?" He glances at Superman's sudden comment, briefly wondering if it's a desperation attempt to change the subject.


End file.
